Colo. Girl, 4, Approached Animal She Thought Was Dog. It Was Actually a Coyote, Who Attacked Child

“The agency is reminding everyone to be vigilant of their children and pets when living amid wildlife,” the Colorado Parks and Wildlife statement said

A 4-year-old Colorado girl was attacked by a coyote on Thanksgiving Day after she approached the wild animal believing it was a dog, according to state officials who now say they’re “hunting” for the animal.

The incident took place late in the afternoon on Thanksgiving Day in Colorado Springs, Colo., officials from the Colorado Parks and Wildlife said in a statement.

“The agency is reminding everyone to be vigilant of their children and pets when living amid wildlife,” the Colorado Parks and Wildlife statement said.

Park officials said the girl was attacked when she and another child “approached a coyote crouching behind a tree, thinking it was a dog.”

“The coyote lunged at the girl, grabbing the back of her head, inflicting serious injuries that resulted in an overnight stay at a hospital,” the park officials statement said.

“This could have been much worse — a tragedy — if not for the quick action of the child’s father to stop the attack, rescue his daughter and scare the coyote off,” Tim Kroening, the Area Wildlife Manager for the Pikes Peak region, said in a statement shared by the wildlife agency.

The Colorado Parks and Wildlife agency says the 4-year-old girl was released from the hospital after the attack, adding that its officers are now on the lookout to “pursue the coyote” and hunt the animal.

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The agency says that despite it being “impossible to identify the exact coyote, CPW and its partners will lethally remove any coyote it can find in the vicinity of the attack.” The wildlife agency says whatever “carcasses” it collects from killing coyotes in the area where the attack occurred “will be sent to a health lab to be examined for human DNA and tested for diseases, like rabies.”

“We don’t know yet what brought the coyote into the yard with this child,” Kroening, the Aeea Wildlife Manager, added in his statement. “But it’s an important reminder to everyone to be alert and haze wild animals away from their homes and neighborhoods. That goes for deer, fox, bobcat, bears and other animals. Don’t let them get comfortable around people. If you see them, throw rocks at them, yell at them. And if you notice aggressive behavior, call us immediately. We'll try to remove any aggressive animals.”